The Elemental's Curse
by that1fangirl
Summary: Elemental spirits all around the world are turning up dead, and no one can figure out who (or what) is killing them. The Guardians put themselves on the case, fearing for their youngest, elemental winter spirit Jack Frost. Will they be able to figure it out before Jack's life is taken as well?
1. Chapter 1

Hands moved throughout the air gracefully, and the nearby river flowed in correspondence. Standing on the shoreline was an elemental, a water spirit named Naida. Her dress gently swayed back and forth in the gentle breeze, and her toes curled into the dirt as she concentrated. Her breathing was deep and steady; her eyes were closed.

One snap of a twig and her eyes opened. The sea blue pupils looked around her as the water fell back into its natural pattern. The breeze had stopped; she could tell something wasn't right. She dipped one foot into the river and prepared to defend herself.

A dark chuckle was the last thing she heard before magic shot at her.

* * *

The Groundhog was not particularly happy about having to stand outside in the freezing blizzard that was raging outside of the North Pole Workshop. He wasn't allowed in until North AKA Santa Claus approved an audience with him. Only then would the yetis and elves allow him entrance.

The door finally opened again and a yeti stepped aside to let Groundhog in.

"Finally," Groundhog muttered before stepping inside and wiping his paws on the plush carpet. It felt good underneath his almost frozen toes.

He was given a mug of hot chocolate and led throughout the workshop until they reached a large wooden door with a fancy 'N' inscribed on the door. The yeti nodded to Groundhog, then walked off to attend to his duties. Groundhog stood there for a moment, admiring the place. He'd never actually been in North's home before. He finally reached out and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" a Russian accent boomed from the other side of the door.

Groundhog carefully opened the door and ducked just in time to have a train fly above his head and out into the hallway.

"Dingle!" An elf stood to attention. "Please, fetch that train!"

Dingle ran around Groundhog and down the hallway after the train. Groundhog watched in shock for a minute before he heard big footsteps and turned back towards the room.

In front of him stood the large Russian spirit, dressed in his usual festive attire, nibbling on a cookie. He definitely held up the persona of the unofficial leader of the Guardians of Childhood. The Christmas spirit smiled and placed a large hand on Groundhog's shoulder.

"Long time no see, comrade," North greeted the spirit. "Please, come in. Have cookie."

"I'll pass," Groundhog politely declined. "I'm here to report a concern."

"I'm sorry," North sighed and turned back towards his desk. "I cannot control what Jack does 24/7."

"What?" Groundhog asked in confusion. "No, North, this isn't about Jack. Well, is it, kind of. It's about the elementals as a whole."

"Isn't that something to direct towards Mother Nature?" North cocked an eyebrow in curiosity.

"She's never in one place for long, North," Groundhog said, as if it was obvious. "She's too hard to track down. Besides, I wanted you to deliver the message to MiM. Maybe he can figure out what's going on."

North sighed and sat in his chair, facing Groundhog. He motioned to a chair in front of his desk, which Groundhog took. He clasped his hands together, signaling Groundhog to begin.

"Normally, I don't pay attention to elemental spirits," Groundhog shrugged. "But animals are starting to hide in fear from certain areas around the world. At first, I just thought it was hunters too into their hunting. Then, I started hearing rumors. I didn't believe them until yesterday."

"What kind of rumors?" North asked.

"Leprechaun claimed he found an air spirit named Anil in the Sahara," Groundhog explained. "The boy was _dead, _North. Then Cupid claimed he found a fire spirit, a girl named Topaz, lying in the Ozark Mountains in Missouri. She was dead as well." Groundhog's eyes seemed to fade in fear. "And yesterday, I found a water spirit, a girl named Naida, by a river in Asia. She had been _burned _to death, North." He took a deep breath. "I think someone is deliberately trying to kill off elementals. And who knows when they'll start turning towards the seasonal elementals."

The color drained from North's face. His mind immediately went towards Jack Frost, the newest and youngest Guardian, born an elemental by both the Man in the Moon and Mother Nature. He was the first cross-spirit ever born: a Guardian by MiM, but a winter spirit by Mother Nature.

North stood up and grabbed his swords, rushing towards the Globe Room. Groundhog followed behind, desperately trying to keep up with fast-paced spirit. North grabbed a lever and pushed down, sending the Northern Lights out into the sky.

"Oh," Groundhog said in realization. "I always wondered what magic conjured the Northern Lights."

"They're a warning," North plainly said.

"For what?" Groundhog asked, nervous for the answer.

"To the other Guardians," North said, watching as the Moon glowed, seeing the lights. "They're on their way."


	2. Chapter 2

Jack Frost peeked out from around the tree trunk. He gripped his staff tightly, looking around frantically. His heart was pounding and he was breathing heavily. He couldn't see anyone, so he stepped out.

"Attack!"

Jack was pummeled with snowballs, gasping with a dramatic "No!" before falling to the ground. The children laughed and ran over to him to jump on him. He grunted as each child jumped onto him, and they all smiled.

"You're funny, Jack!" Cupcake said.

Jack thought back to his sister, back when he was alive, and how she'd always tell him how funny he was. He smiled at the thought. He looked to Cupcake and the rest of the group: Jamie, Sophie, Claude, Caleb, Pippa, and Monty. He wiggled himself out from underneath the children and grabbed his staff, standing up. He helped the other children stand up at they cheered for their victory, finally beating Jack at a snowball fight. Jack only rolled his eyes.

That was when he looked to the sky and saw the Northern Lights. His blood froze - no pun intended - and he felt himself panic slightly. The last time he saw the Northern Lights was a year ago, right before he became a Guardian of Childhood. That was when Pitch Black, the Boogeyman, rose to power and tried to destroy the Guardians and all of the good belief in the world.

"I have to go, you guys," he said.

"Aww," all of the children responded.

"Do you have to?" Jamie asked sadly.

"Unfortunately, yes," Jack put a hand on Jamie's shoulder and knelt to his level. "But when I come back, you guys will have the best snow day ever!"

"Yay!" the children hollered in excitement before waving goodbye to Jack and running off. Jack waved goodbye back before shooting off into the air.

Jack tried to think back to see if he'd seen anything out of the ordinary. Well, besides the fact that the other seasonal spirits haven't come to harrass him in a while (Daisy even _checked up_ on him) nothing was new. He finally made it to the North Pole and zoomed through a window straight into the Globe Room. As usual, the others had already beaten him here. But Jack stopped short seeing a new being added to the usual group.

"What is _he _doing here?"

The four other Guardians were surprised by Jack. His eyes were narrowed and he sounded disgusted and angered. He was glaring right at Groundhog, who almost seemed to shrink until the cold glaze - no pun intended.

"Jack," North spoke up. "Groundhog is reason I called this meeting."

"Whatever he's blaming me for this time, I didn't do it!" Jack snapped.

"I'm not blaming you for anything this time, you annoying pest!" Groundhog snapped. Jack's eyes flashed with hurt at the name. "I might've actually saved your pathetic life! You should be grateful!"

"That's it!" Bunny growled, grabbing Groundhog's shoulder. "You already told North everything we need to know. I'll escort you out."

Groundhog glared at Jack before he left the room with Bunny. Jack gently lowered himself to the ground, eyes glazed over with hurt. He never liked being called annoying, pathetic, or a pest. He got enough of that from all of the elemental spirits. He didn't need it from the Moon spirits, too.

North led Jack over to one of the chairs and offered him milk and cookies. Jack gladly accepted it. Bunny came back a few minutes later and North explained to the Guardians what Groundhog had told him.

"When I asked Manny," North sighed. "He knew nothing. He told me he'd look into it and let me know what he found."

"Oh my gosh, this makes sense!" Jack realized. "I normally gather with the other seasonal elementals this time of year to plan the next seasons. But none of them have come to get me."

"You mean they're missing?" Tooth asked.

"I don't know," Jack shrugged. "If they're hiding, they're probably hiding out in Mother's castle."

"Mother's castle?" Bunny inquired in confusion.

Jack chuckled. "Madame Melinda Nature? Humans call her Mother Nature? Us elementals call her Mother? C'mon, surely you know of Mother Nature."

"We do," North spoke up. "But you've never spoke of her before, so we didn't know if you accepted her as your mother."

"Of course I do," Jack looked at the Guardians in shock. "I was just never on good terms with my 'siblings'. So, I was never allowed into her palace. So I just avoided her."

"She's always been a brat in my eyes," Bunny muttered under his breath, though the others heard him. "Who would throw out their child?"

"But it doesn't matter," Jack spoke up, trying to ease the tension. Then his eyes lit up with realization. "Wait a minute! Of course! Mother would be looking into what's killing these elementals! Maybe she's figured it out?"

"Blimey," Bunny groaned. "Now we have to go visit Mother Nature and the other seasonal spirits?"

Jack shot Bunny a nasty look, who instantly shut up in response.

"Of course!" North clapped. "Is great idea, Jack! We leave in one hour!"

Bunny once again groaned, while Tooth and Sandy smiled in excitement. Neither of them had seen the powerful being in at least 1000 years, if not more. It would be nice to see their old friend once more. North began thinking of how to approach the self-proclaimed queen. She was very tempermental, from what he could remember in his few interactions with her, so he'd have to be careful with his words.

Jack, on the other hand, began to grow nervous. He hadn't seen his spiritual mother in at least 200 years, and the last time he had been in contact with her wasn't a very pleasant one. That was when she had chewed him out for causing the Blizzard of '68 on Easter Sunday. Bunny had shown up about 5 minutes after she left and tried to beat him before he flew off, terrified for his immortal life.

Jack shook himself out of the memories and listened to Sandy and Tooth reminise on their memories with Mother Nature. He liked hearing of this soft, caring side of his mother. _Maybe one day, _he thought, _she'll be the same way with me. _

The only way he'd ever know was to keep trying.


	3. Chapter 3

Madame Melinda "Mother" Nature was … an interesting spirit, to say the least. Not many spirits got to see her except three of her four most powerful 'children', but most run-ins with other spirits were not well-timed.

To the outside world of spirits, she appeared to be cold-hearted, strict, and short-tempered. Only a handful of spirits knew her true side: Guardian of Childhood Sanderson Mansnoozie, Guardian of Childhood Toothiana, Spirit of Spring Daisy Thornstone, Spirit of Fall Friedrich Redleaf, and Spirit of Summer Chris Sunbeam.

The three spirits previously mentioned then walked into the Library of Ancient Magic that Melinda was studying in. Studying the murder places, she sensed a dark, ancient magic she hadn't seen in the while. Now she was just trying to figure out what exact magic was being used against her children.

"Permission to speak, Mum?" Daisy asked.

"Permission granted, love," Melinda said, putting away another book.

"You have visitors, Mum," Daisy explained. "The Guardians of Childhood." Melinda turned to her daughter in shock. "We asked them to wait for your permission to enter the treehouse."

"Yes, go let them in," Melinda said, almost too shocked to speak.

Daisy left the room, but Chris and Friedrich remained.

"Mother," Friedrich spoke up, waiting for the notion to speak. "Am I correct in saying Jack is officially a Guardian of Childhood?"

"I believe so, my son," Melinda smiled, turning towards her two boys. "You should be proud. Your baby brother has become one of the Greats."

"But we were never kind to him, Mum," Chris pointed out. "He probably won't even want to talk to us anymore."

"You'd be surprised, Chris," Melinda assured him. "Jack is a creature of forgiveness and second chances. Even after the Guardians ignored him and hurt him for so long, he gave them a chance. And now he has a close group of comrades, even a second family, if you will."

"Mom?"

Chris and Friedrich moved aside to see Daisy leading Jack into the room. Melinda smiled to see her youngest son still sporting his 300-year-old trousers with his signature blue hoodie. His staff was held tightly in one hand. And still no shoes. The other Guardians followed in after him.

"Melinda," Tooth said.

"Toothiana," Melinda greeted. "Sanderson. Nicholas." She looked at Bunny and smiled. "Aster."

"My name is Bunny," he growled.

Melinda shrugged and went back to Jack. "Come, I want a hug."

Jack stood in shock for a moment before Daisy pushed him forward. Jack caught himself and looked at Melinda in thought for a moment before handing his staff to Daisy and wrapping his arms around Melinda's waist. Melinda tightly hugged Jack back.

"I made a mistake," Melinda confessed. "Keeping you away from your birth-right family."

"Mom, it's ok," Jack promised, patting her back. She pulled away from him and frowned.

"No, it isn't," she countered. "You were left out there, all alone for 300 years. No child should have to go through that, Jack. And I thought I was protecting you that way, which only makes it worse. I was afraid that if Pitch realized that you were both a son of me and MiM, he would see you as valuable and come after you." She sighed. "But I guess it didn't matter in the end, did it?"

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"I have connections with the animals in Antarctica, Jack," Melinda narrowed her eyes. "I know what happened that Easter."

Jack looked down at his feet, suddenly nervous. He hadn't exactly told the other Guardians what had happened there yet, just that Baby Tooth helped him open his teeth box and unlock his memories. They hadn't even questioned how she got back to him when he accidentally left her in Pitch's lair.

Melinda seemed to get the hint and didn't push Jack further. Daisy handed Jack's staff back to him, which he gladly took.

"Mother Nature, do I have permission to speak?" North stepped forward, clasping a hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack smiled at the gesture.

"Proceed," Melinda nodded.

"I'm sure you've heard about these … 'murders', upon your elementals," North questioned.

"Yes, I have," Melinda said sadly. "That is why these three have not been allowed to leave. And I knew Jack would be safe with you."

"We're still worried for Jack's safety, though," Tooth spoke up, floating forward. "Is there any possible way this could be Pitch? Looking for revenge against Jack in some way?"

"No, my woodland creatures in Burgess have kept an eye on his lair," Melinda shook her head. "Have been watching all entrances, even the secret ones he thinks nobody knows about. The moment he would've left, I would've been warned."

"Do you have any idea as to who could be doing this?" Bunny asked, now a little worried. They knew how to deal with Pitch, but a new dark spirit? They were back at Stage 1, with many spiritual lives on the line.

Melinda turned towards the book she had open on the desk behind her. "I visited the sites, investigated the best I could. What I've found out so far is this: whoever is doing this has access to very _dark, _very _ancient _magic that takes many years to learn and perfect. If I can just figure out what magic they're using, maybe that'll lead us to who it is and how to stop them."

"If I may, Mum," Chris spoke up. "But I didn't think any magic could exist that could actually _kill immortals. _We're immortal for a reason."

"You're an elemental, Chris," Melinda corrected him. "It's a different type of immortal." Then her eyes lit up. "Of course!" She turned to Chris. "4th floor, 5th shelf, book number 10. Now."

"Mother?" Friedrich asked in confusion as Chris shot up throughout the library. "What's going on in your mind?"

Chris shot back down with the book and held it out. Melinda quickly took it, opening it up and flipping through the pages.

"Chris just made me realize something," Melinda said excitedly. "It should've been so obvious to me in the first place. These elementals are being _killed. _There's only one way to kill an elemental." She set the book down on the desk, and everyone gathered around to see what she was talking about. "The Elemental's Curse."

"The what?" Bunny asked.

"It's a very ancient form of dark magic, Aster," Melinda stated. "Created before the Man in the Moon was even born, when mortals were cavemen and dinosaurs roamed the Earth. There are two things necessary for this to work: a pure black heart and knowledge."

"Knowledge of what?" Friedrich asked.

Melinda began pacing around the room as North and Bunny studied the page. "All elementals were once mortal human beings. They become elementals if their lives were ended tragically because of something of nature." She turned back to the group. "Anil was found in the Sahara, correct?" North nodded. "He died in the Sahara as a human, from starvation and dehydration. Topaz was found in the Ozarks. She died as a human when she ate something poisonous there. And Naida …" Melinda thought for a minute. "She didn't die in Asia, though."

"She was burned!" Tooth realized in horror.

"Then she must've died in a natural fire as a human," Melinda said sadly. "This knowledge that magic requires is knowledge of how the elemental died as a human. That is the only thing, combined with the Curse, that will kill an elemental for good."

"Do you have any idea how someone could've learned this?" North asked.

"No," Melinda shrugged in defeat. "But if we don't figure it out soon, more elementals will die."

"Madame! Madame!"

Melinda and the others turned to see a fox hurry in.

"It's horrible, Madame!" the fox cried.

"What is?" Melinda asked, kneeling down to the fox and holding him as he cried.

"Another immortal!" the fox continued crying. "He's _dead, _Madame! He was killed!"

"Show me where, now," Melinda ordered. The fox nodded and wiped away his tears before rushing from the room. Melinda turned to the others. "Well, are you lot coming or what?"


	4. Chapter 4

Jack, for the 10th time in the past 5 minutes, sighed. This caused glares from Chris and Friedrich, but Jack ignored them. He was bored beyond belief.

They'd just made it to the main entrance of the treehouse when Melinda decided that it wasn't smart for the four seasonal elementals to go with them. So Tooth, not so keen on seeing a dead spirit, stayed behind with the restless and annoyed elementals.

"Jack," Tooth spoke up. "You realize the others are going to ask you what I'm about to ask, right?"

"I don't want to talk about how I died, Tooth," Jack turned to look out the window. He watched the animals running around, having fun, being free.

"Jack, they'll need to know so they can protect you," Daisy informed.

"Then you all share," Jack turned to them, glaring, then crossing his arms. "Then I'll share."

Daisy sighed. "I died in a fire, trying to keep it under control while my parents escaped. Our house was right outside one of those 'natural fire hazard' forests in California."

"I was saving my grandpa," Friedrich looked down sadly. "He'd fallen into a raging river. I helped him climb onto a rock ledge, but I slipped and … yeah."

"I died of a heat stroke," Chris shared. "I had a part-time job taking care of mentally ill adults and when we were stuck in a heat stroke zone, I gave the man all the water and food. I found out later, through Mum, that he lived."

"You all died saving someone," Jack realized. "How come you aren't Guardians?"

"We didn't save _children, _Jack," Daisy reminded him. "Now, you promised you'd share."

Jack looked down before sighing. "I lived in Burgess when it was just a colony town. My dad was gone a lot with hunting parties, but it was how we got our food and money. My mother was a seamstress. And I had a little sister. Annabelle." Jack smiled thinking of her. "Anyways, I promised Annabelle that one day during the winter I'd take her ice skating. She was preteen; I don't remember her exact age. But I was 17." Jack chuckled. "She loved every minute of it. I loved watching her twirl around."

"And I bet she loved the audience," Friedrich smiled.

Jack laughed, but then his smile fell. "But … then she froze. I was taking my skates off to show off, skate with no skates, ya know? I looked up because I heard her whimpering in fear. The ice was cracking beneath her." Jack gulped. "I knew I had to do something fast. I got her mind off of the fear, telling her we were playing a game. She somewhat got into it, but she was still scared. We played Hopscotch. I used my shepherd staff-" He motioned to the staff in his hand. "-to grab hold of her and fling her to safety. I used so much force I knocked myself to the side. And I landed on the cracking ice." Daisy and Tooth covered their mouths, realizing where this was going. "For a moment, she laid on her stomach and I laid on my back, and we were smiling at each other. We both stood up, and I took a step forward."

Jack shuddered. "The ice broke, and I fell in. I heard Annabelle call for me, and I tried to swim up to her, but the cold water paralyzed me. It only took a minute for it to kill me. Manny resurrected me that night."

"Then you can't go back to your lake until this is over, Jack," Daisy warned him. "For this murderer to kill you, they'd have to drown you in your lake."

"I know, Daisy," Jack half-heartedly smiled. "I know."

Tooth placed a small hand on Jack's shoulder. "Well, that explains your center. You used _fun _to save your sister, Jack."

"Well, he is the King of Fun," Chris agreed. "And of mischief."

"Hey, they go hand in hand," Jack protested.

Tooth only shook her head. For the past 300 years, she'd seen nothing but violent, pure hatred between these elementals. Now their true colors were showing. They were only 3 brothers and a sister who cared for each other, sometimes didn't get along, and who _loved _to annoy one another.

"Hey Jack?" Chris spoke up. "We are _so _sorry for how we've treated you - what we've done to you - for the past 300 years."

"It's ok," Jack smiled, though Tooth could see right through it. It wasn't ok, and his smile was purely fake, trying to hide the pain, but he didn't want to make his siblings feel bad.

"No Jack," Friedrich shook his head. "It's not ok, no matter how many times you tell us it is. We know how much it's hurt you. And it wasn't just us - it was practically every spirit in the world."

"He's right, Jack," Tooth spoke up. "None of us were there for you. We're all sorry. And you saying that it's ok is not going to fix anything."

Jack slumped down in his chair in defeat. "Fine. Yes, it hurt. Yes, it still does hurt. But I have two families now, right? The Guardians and you guys! I'm happy now, and I'm starting to learn how to cope with my past and move on! I promise you that if something starts bothering me, I will instantly come for one of you-" He turned to Tooth. "-or the other Guardians. Deal?"

"Deal," they all replied in chorus.

"Ugh," Chris slumped down in his chair, glad that conversation was over. "I'm so _bored._"

Jack smirked. "I think I can fix that."

* * *

Melinda could only chuckle as she and the other Guardians walked into one of the sitting rooms to find it turned into a skating rink. Tooth, Chris, Daisy, and Friedrich were skating around clumsily, and Jack was trying to help them. He skated gracefully, almost without trying. There were even light flurries coming down from the ceiling that would sink into the ice when they touched the ground to re-harden it.

She turned to the Guardians and smirked before turning around and putting on an annoyed face.

"What is going on here?" she boomed.

Everyone froze and looked towards her, looking frightened as if they got caught in the cookie jar. Then she smiled.

"Why are you having fun without me?" she asked, pretending to be emotionally hurt. "Can't have fun with your mother?"

"Oh, come on then!" Daisy said, grabbing her mother's hand and pulling her onto the rink.

Sandy smiled and immediately joined in the fun, making dreamsand snowflakes to float around the room as he skated. North gathered his shock for a moment and then slowly made his way onto the ice. After about 10 minutes of trying to keep his balance - with Jack's help - he began to have fun. Bunny just stood there looking annoyed.

"Come on Kangaroo!" Jack said, grabbing Bunny's arm and pulling him onto the ice.

Everyone laughed as Bunny protested while Jack pulled him across the ice.


	5. Chapter 5

I apologize for not uploading for a long time. I've been preparing for college (I'm a music major!) and working almost every night a week as well as trying to start up my own official music teaching studio. So again, I really apologize! On to the story!

(This is kind of a filler chapter because I have an honest writer's block. Feel free to give me suggestions on what you think I should do for the story!)

* * *

Bunny watched as Jack related the Guardians' adventures against Pitch to his brothers, sister, and mother. Bunny couldn't help but notice how animated Jack was when he got excited about something. And he was really accurate in his storytelling.

They had all gone back to the North Pole because North had to check up on preparations. Tooth was barking orders to her fairies, every once in a while smiling at Jack's enthusiasm. Sandy was sending dreamsand out of the window to go throughout the world to whoever needed it.

Bunny, however, was starting to tune everyone out and let himself get lost in his thoughts. And Jack was the center of his thoughts. He thought about the first time he had met Jack, all the mean things he's ever said to the sprite, how quickly he let Jack go during that dreadful Easter. He regretted hurting Jack like that.

And now Jack's life was in jeopardy. An elemental murderer was on the loose, and he was going to come for Jack sooner or later. And when he did, Bunny would be there, protecting the sprite he'd come to accept as a little brother. In all honesty, he'd grown a soft spot for the kid sprite.

What the other Guardians didn't know was that Bunny could feel everyone's hope. When people lost hope, it hurt him. Jack losing the last bit of hope during the Easter they turned him away was the reason Bunny became a small bunny. Jack was an immortal child - forever a child, basically. His hope, his belief, was meant to be stronger than any other child's because he'd never grow up. Jack lost his belief in the Guardians that day, and that was what made them so weak. His belief was struggling on the edge during the final battle with Pitch. But when Sandy's dreamsand made a comeback, Jack's belief soared along with the rest of the children of the world, and the Guardians won the battle.

Bunny was pulled back into reality by Jack's voice.

"You alright, Cottontail?" he asked, smirking.

Bunny only smirked back. "Course, Frostbite."

Jack's siblings chuckled at that nickname, and Jack glared at him. Bunny then turned to Mother Nature. "Can I talk to you in private?"

"Sure," she answered. She gave him a questioning look at they went into the next room. He closed the door behind them after making sure no one was listening in on them. "What's this about, Bunnymund?"

Bunny sighed. "You know I'm not one to talk about my emotions." She nodded. "But, ever since Jack joined us, we Guardians have become a family of sorts. Jack's our baby now. I'm scared for his safety."

"He's got you and the other Guardians," Melinda reassured him. "His brothers and sister, and me. Jack will be ok. I promise you that, Bunnymund. He's my baby boy, too, don't forget. I won't let anything happen to him."

Bunny smiled. He felt his own hope grow just a little bit more.


	6. Chapter 6

Jack Frost, the Guardian of Childhood _Fun_, was bored. He could only freeze the elves and play tag with the yetis so many times before it became boring. His siblings and mother had gone back to the Treehouse to try and find out ways to protect elementals from The Elemental's Curse. And the Guardians had forbidden him from even going off on his own inside the workshop.

So here he sat, in North's private office, watching North carve new toy models out of ice with a bored expression. North knew it was only a matter of time before Jack would try to come up with a plan to escape outside for some fun.

"Jack," he spoke up, catching the winter sprite's attention. "Would you like to help me design some toys?"

Jack's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really?"

"Of course," North smiled. Jack suddenly looked like a little kid who had been offered an endless supply of cookies. "Come, pull chair over. I'm sure you'll be a natural."

Jack quickly pulled his chair over, next to the man he'd come to look at as his father. North pulled out some papers and showed Jack designs of new toys he'd been thinking about, but couldn't figure out how to bring them to life. Jack quickly took on that challenge, excitedly taking the papers from North and studying them.

North would sneak peeks at Jack, watching in shock as Jack twirled two of his fingers in front of him as he looked at a design. Ice was forming out of thin air, slowly taking on the shape of the toy that Jack was looking at.

Not wanting to disrupt Jack's work, North waited until Jack put down the paper and smiled at his finished work, a complete replica of the drawing on the paper.

"Jack," he said in shock. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"What, this?" Jack chuckled, seeming amused by North's shock. "If I concentrate hard enough on one thing, I can make an extra replica of it out of ice. It's not too hard actually. The only hard part is staying concentrated long enough."

"Would you mind trying it on the rest of those designs?" North asked. "Only if you want to."

"Anything I can do to help, North," Jack said, taking the ice replica and setting it with North's other ice replicas. Then he sat in his chair and began working on the next one.

North watched for a moment before going back to the ice replica he was working on: a winter-themed teddy bear. He was planning on making only one of those, and it was going to be Jack's christmas present from him. Of course, Santa was going to give him tons of presents as this would be his first official Christmas with the Guardians. But North, his adoptive father, was making this teddy bear especially for his new-found son that he'd been wishing for his entire immortal life.

Then an idea popped into North's head.

"Jack!" North said, grabbing a piece of paper and a drawing pencil. Luckily, Jack had just finished the replica he'd been doing, so when he was shocked out of concentration, it didn't ruin the replica.

"What?" he asked, thinking he did something wrong.

"I have wonderful idea!" North continued sketching, looking up at Jack every couple of seconds. "I have found way to get new believers for you!" He held out the paper to Jack. "Jack Frost statues! Look just like you, no?"

Jack looked at the paper in awe. It was Jack standing tall and proud, with his hoodie with all of the frost patterns, his exact pants, even his staff clutched in both hands. It was standing on a little pedestal that read: "Jack Frost: Spirit of Winter & Guardian of Fun." Jack finally let a smile slip onto his face and he looked up at North.

"We should do all five of us," Jack suggested. "Each with our own statue. And put them all together in one present."

"Brilliant idea, Jack!" North said, getting even more excited by the second. He grabbed more paper and sharpened his pencil. "I shall get to work on designs right away! I shall even add Baby Tooth into Tooth's design. You finish toys you were working on."

Jack could only smile at North's excitement as he turned back to the designs North had assigned him. He moved the one he had just finished over with the other finished projects and began the next design.

* * *

It was only when North decided the designs were perfect that he turned to look at Jack. The winter sprite had finished all of his designs but was now fast asleep, head on his hands on the table. North could only chuckle; he could've sworn Jack said it didn't take much energy to do those ice replicas, but he did do a lot of them in the past couple of hours.

North carefully gathered his son into his arms and secured him. Jack didn't even budge. The elves grabbed Jack's staff and followed North down a hallway. North passed his bedroom, then stopped at the bedroom next to his own. Opening the door, he walked in and admired the room.

It was a room he'd made especially for Jack. Designed with the colors sky blue and white, it represented a winter wonderland. Glass snowflakes made a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, made by Phil, Jack's favorite yeti. A desk sat in front of the window with paper and drawing pencils in case Jack had a hit in inspiration. A closet stood closed; behind its doors were a dozen replicas of the outfit Jack always wore. A shelf was filled with Jack's favorite books that he'd discovered in North's library these past few months. And of course, there was a king-sized bed, with tons of fluffy, white pillows to represent snow. The sheets were a sky blue.

North carefully set Jack in the bed and covered him up with the sheets. He patted Jack's head gently and ruffled his hair before smiling and leaving the room to continue his duties before retiring himself.

As soon as the door closed, Jack's eyes burst open. He smirked; his plan had worked. He quietly crawled out of bed, grabbing his staff that the elves set next to his bed, and opened the window. He looked towards the bedroom door and hesitated before shooting out the window, heading to give Burgess the best snow day they've had yet.


	7. Chapter 7

"JACK!"

Jack's face instantly lit up at the sounds of the Burgess kids. They giggled as snow landed on their noses and clapped as Jack did a somersault in the air and landed perfectly on his feet.

"Your snow day," he bowed to the children. "For the Kings and Queens of Burgess!"

"YAY!" they all cheered.

Jack then started an epic snowball fight. Jamie and his friends ganged up on Jack and trampled him with snowballs. He once again dramatically fell to the ground, so the rest of the kids decided to dog pile him. He grunted as each kid jumped onto him. They all laughed before letting Jack get up.

Jack played with the kids until they were called for dinner. They gave Jack sad goodbyes (and Jamie gave him a breath-taking hug) and headed for home. Jack slowed the snow as he walked down the sidewalks of Burgess, smiling as he thought about the fun he spread today.

That was when he heard a child's cry.

Jack instantly shot into the air, heading towards the sound of the child. He flew into an alleyway, only to find it empty.

"Hello?" he called out.

"Hello … _Jack._"

Jack looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the voice.

"You may've selflessly come to a non-existent child's aid," the voice said slowly and softly. "But _no one _will have the chance to come to your aid."

Something hit Jack in the back of the head, hard. He collapsed to the ground, barely conscious. The person that struck him took his staff, and Jack closed his hand to process that his staff was gone. Then the person grabbed him by his hoodie and began dragging him out of the alleyway.

"Let's visit your lake, shall we?"

Jack felt fear start to rise inside him and the person chuckled, feeling Jack tense up underneath his hoodie. He tried to fight his heavy eyes, but they finally won and he passed out, praying the Guardians would find him before it was too late.

* * *

Melinda, Daisy, Friedrich, and Chris all walked into the Globe Room to see the Guardians (minus Jack) sitting by the fire, talking about Christmas preparations.

"Where's my son?" Melinda asked.

"I put him to bed hours ago," North answered, snatching up another cookie and earning a glare from Tooth. "Boy exhausted himself helping me design toys."

"You got him to do _work_?" Friedrich asked in shock.

"What did you do to our brother!" Chris dramatically gasped, making everyone else laugh.

Elves burst in, bringing trays of hot chocolate and cookies for the newly arrived spirits. They gladly took the offers and found themselves spots on the comfy couches placed by the fireplace. They talked for another half an hour before Phil burst into the room, freaking out and yelling something so fast that even North couldn't understand him.

"Phil, you must calm down," North said, going over to his Head Yeti and placing a hand on the furry shoulder. "Now, tell me what's wrong."

The yeti relayed his message, and the jolly color drained from North's face as Phil continued to speak.

"North?" Tooth asked. "What's wrong?"

"Jack has left workshop!" he panicked, turning to his sword rack and pulling out his two swords. "He was gone from room and window was open! We must go find him, now!"

"Where could he have gone?" Daisy asked. "He has no other home."

"Burgess," Bunny suggested. "He'd go to Jamie and Sophie. He wouldn't want them to worry if he didn't visit every once in a while."

"Then to Burgess we go," North said, grabbing a snowglobe. "Everyone prepares themselves. We don't know what we'll walk into."

* * *

I know it's short but I wanted to leave a good cliffhanger! Let me know what YOU think is going to happen! (Bet none of you will be able to guess!)


	8. Chapter 8

Jack slowly became aware of his surroundings as he gained consciousness. The first thing he knew was that his head hurt, a lot. Pain came in waves from the back of his head, and his vision was a little blurry.

"The child has awoken!" a voice called out.

Jack looked towards the direction of the voice and saw the outline of a figure. He squinted his eyes and his vision cleared up enough for Jack to realize his kidnapper was an older man. He wore sky blue and white robes, and he had a long, white beard. His head was covered in white hair as well.

"It took you long enough," the man chuckled, looking at Jack with an evil smirk. "You must not sleep often, huh? The Boogeyman give you nightmares?"

Jack glared at him for that taunt. "I _defeated _the Boogeyman."

"Yes, and became a _Guardian,_" the man sneered, murdering the title. "I've come to teach you a lesson, Jack Frost." The man stood up from his seat on the nearby tree trunk and walked over to Jack. He grabbed Jack's chin, pulling him up quite violently, causing Jack to wince in pain. "You are not worthy enough to be a spirit of winter."

"And who are you to say that?" Jack snapped back.

The man laughed and pushed Jack back to the ground, whose head was still pounding too much to allow him to move. Jack perched himself onto his elbows as the man began to pace.

"My name is Ebenezer Himesh," he finally said after a minute or two, turning to look Jack in the eyes. "I'm more commonly known as Father Winter."

"Father Winter?" Jack asked in shock. "You're the one that's been killing off the elementals?"

"I had to perfect these new powers of mine, Jack," Father Winter looked at his hands, smiling. "I had to perfect them for _you_." He looked up at Jack. "You're the one I've wanted to kill all along."

"Why?" Jack asked nervously as Father Winter walked up to him.

"You took my place!" Father Winter shouted at him. "I should be the only Spirit of Winter; I should be the only one to control the season. This world doesn't need a hormonal teenage boy running around with winter powers. You're a disgrace for a Guardian of Childhood."

Jack glared at Father Winter. "I doubt you'd be any better!"

Father Winter's hand moved so fast that Jack didn't have time to respond. His lungs almost instantly screamed for air as Father Winter's hand tightened itself around Jack's throat.

"I don't like your mouth, boy," Father Winter growled. "Now tell me, how'd you end up in that water?"

That was when Jack realized where they were: his lake.

Panic burst through his veins and adrenaline pushed away the pain from his head. He kicked Father Winter in the stomach, who shouted in pain, releasing Jack's neck. Jack barely let himself catch his breath before taking off. He mentally cursed when Father Winter grabbed his arm, holding him back.

"I've had enough of you, boy!" Father Winter decided. "It's time for you to die."

Fear took over Jack's mind, and he kicked and screamed against Father Winter's grip as he was dragged onto the ice. Father Winter stomped a section of the ice and it broke and instantly melted into the rest of the cold water. He pulled Jack up by his hoodie and held him over the hole.

Jack looked into Father Winter's eyes; Jack's eyes spelled out pure terror. It only made Father Winter smile. The boy had been scared into silence.

"Say goodbye, Frost."

He released Jack, who fell into the hole. The cold water instantly paralyzed Jack, who was pulled into memories of his first death. Fear nulled all of his senses He closed his eyes tightly and held his breath, praying for the Guardians to come to his rescue.

* * *

The Guardians, Mother Nature, Daisy, Friedrich, and Chris ran into the clearing where Jack's lake was just in time to see Father Winter drop Jack into the water.

"NO!" Daisy, Melinda, and Tooth all shouted.

Father Winter turned to look at them and smiled.

"So glad you could join me, all of you," he smiled. "You can watch your little one die, just like he deserves!"

Bunny was the first to react, throwing his boomerang at Father Winter. Father Winter easily dodged it, stomping his foot on the ice. The hole instantly closed up and iced over again. All of the Guardians and elementals felt fear well up in their hearts - fear for their baby boy and his life.

"Melinda, you and the Moon will regret ever creating Jack Frost," Father Winter promised. "I will, from now on into forever, be the _only _winter spirit to roam this Earth!" He closed his eyes and began chanting.

"It's the Curse!" Melinda gasped. "We have to stop him, or Jack won't have a chance!"

North swung his swords and yelled a battle cry, causing Father Winter to lose his concentration. He created ice swords to deflect North's swords.

Everyone began to attack Father Winter, who deflected every attack with ease. Everyone heard something break and a splash. They looked to see the hole in the ice once more, but no Jack. A gasp caused everyone's attention to turn back to Father Winter.

Father Winter lifted Melinda by her throat and held it tightly. She struggled for air.

"Mum!" Daisy choked out. "Let her go!"

"No," Father Winter simply stated, smiling evilly as he looked into Melinda's eyes. "I promised her she'd regret making Jack. What better way than to kill her?"

"You'd throw the balance, you idiot!" Friedrich growled. "Mother holds the balance between everything of nature. If she's gone, the balance is gone!"

"Then winter shall truly reign!" Father Winter claimed excitedly, tightening his grip on Melinda's neck, earning a whimper from her.

"YOU RELEASE MY DAUGHTER!"

Father Winter was suddenly knocked from his feet. In shock, he dropped Melinda. Chris and Friedrich shot forward, pulling their mother away from the evil spirit. The Guardians looked in shock towards the source of the magic that took Father Winter off his feet.

Standing on the ice, soaking wet and shivering, was Pitch Black, King of Nightmares and Fear. He was holding up a shaking and terrified Jack Frost, who was coughing to get the remaining water out of his lungs.

"Father?" Melinda asked in shock as her sons helped her to stand up.

"Pitch Black," Father Winter greeted the dark spirit, standing up and mockingly bowing to Pitch. "To what do I owe this honor?"

"You kill four of my grandchildren," Pitch growled. "Attempt to kill a fifth, who happens to be a Guardian, and then attempt to kill my daughter?" Pitch's eyes narrowed. "You must have a death wish yourself, Ebenezer."

"But you must've loved the doses of fear they gave off," Father Winter smirked.

"HOW DARE YOU!"

Pitch shot out more nightmare sand, which Father Winter dodged. A sand exclamation point popped up over Sandy's head, which Pitch caught out of the corner of his eye. Pitch picked up Jack and ran to the group, handing Jack to Bunny. Bunny instantly knelt to the ground, helping Jack into a position where he could easily get the rest of the water out of his lungs.

Pitch looked knowingly at Sandy, who nodded in response. Pitch closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, they were solid black. Father Winter faulted a little bit as Pitch's powers were released. Sand completely surrounded Father Winter, who screamed at the sudden nightmares that poured into his mind.

"Now, Sandman!" Pitch shouted after a minute.

Sandy unleashed his own sand at Father Winter, causing him to collapse, completely knocked out. Pitch walked over to him and gently kicked him, confirming he was out cold.

"I'll lock him in one of my dungeons," Pitch promised. "He'll pay for this."

"Pitch," North said in shock. Pitch turned towards the leader of the Guardians, expecting to be scolded for returning to the surface. "You saved Jack?"

Pitch only smiled - not his usual evil smirk, but a genuine smile. "I did not sense the fear of my other grandchildren in enough time to save their lives. But the fear Jack gave off - that all of you gave off - it hit me instantly. I knew where to come and what to do."

"I thought you'd never save a Guardian," Melinda reminded her father.

Pitch looked to the ground for a moment before looking into his daughter's eyes. "Jack was my grandson first. He's an exception."

The Guardians couldn't help but smile. Jack finally spoke up.

"Awe, you do care."

Bunny could only roll his eyes, familiar with that phrase that Jack used every time Bunny had grown soft on the kid. Pitch only glared playfully at Jack before turning back to his daughter.

"I should be going," he announced. "But I hope to see you soon."

She smiled in response, and Pitch lifted his hand. Snapping his fingers, clouds of nightmare sand surrounded him and the still unconscious Father Winter. Then they both disappeared.

North turned to Jack. "Let's get you home, da? Too much excitement for one day."

Jack coughed once more. "You can say that again."

* * *

Where I got the name for Father Winter: Ebenezer is from Ebenezer Scrooge, who had despised anything Christmas, happy, and winter. And Himesh means "snow king".

And originally, I hadn't planned on going along with the book version of Pitch and Mother Nature's relationship as father and daughter, but it was too good a twist to not do.

And don't worry; story's not over yet! I think I'll be doing two more chapters! Let me know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

Jack was starting to notice a lot of similarities in Daisy and Tooth, like the way they _loved _to baby him. And Jack _hated _being treated like a baby. But after facing death once more in the eye, he let them baby him all they wanted.

North, Bunny, Sandy, Friedrich, and Chris (all still stressed over recent events) were sprawled out in couches and rocking chairs in front of the huge fireplace in the Globe Room, letting the crackle of the fire calm their nerves.

Melinda, however, looked out the window at the gentle snowfall. She felt like an idiot. Her father was never the real threat to Jack; he was Jack's grandfather by birthright, after all. The real threat had been old Father Winter, Ebenezer Himesh. She had no idea the old spirit would be so offended and angry at the creation of a new winter spirit, especially one that was created for the position of a Guardian rather than a caretaker of winter.

Melinda thought back to the short time that Pitch was with them during the fight. She hadn't seen her father in one thousand years, and she became truly disgusted with him when he started that war against the Guardians and attacked his own grandson. While Jack still didn't realize it, Melinda knew the true reason Pitch offered for Jack to join him when he confronted Jack in Antarctica: he didn't want to destroy his youngest grandson, a Guardian of Childhood or not.

Phil the Yeti came in and whispered something to North, who seemed to contemplate for a moment before nodding and returning in his comfortable position in his rocking chair. Moments later, Phil returned to the room, accompanied by the King of Nightmares and Fear himself, Pitch Black.

"Papa," Melinda looked at Pitch in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh come now, daughter," Pitch feigned hurt as he strode over to the girl. She realized she had to look up quite a bit to look her father in the eyes; she was only feet feet tall after all. Pitch had to be at least six feet tall, and Bunnymund was even seven feet tall. "Do you hit your head? Have you already forgotten the events of the past couple of hours?"

"No, of course not," Melinda responded, turning back to the window. "I just … wasn't expecting you."

"Now I see where Mum gets her cold parenting from," Chris muttered as a joke to Friedrich. Both boys snickered, earning glares from both of the parental spirits. Pitch turned back to his daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I know I've never been a good father to you, not since we became spirits," Pitch sighed, sadly. "I guess I blamed my powers, my purpose, my nature, and I thought it was much too late to try and reach out to you. Sandman was there for you when I couldn't be. I even tried murdering the both of you, blindly. What kind of father tries to murder his own daughter?" Melinda opened her mouth, but Pitch stopped her. "I'm not done." He took a deep breath. "I can't change the past, but I'd sure like to change the future. Would you accept me as your father once more, Melinda?"

Melinda looked up to her father and smiled. Then she enveloped him into a huge hug.

"Of course, father. I love you."

Pitch looked to Jack in shock, who smiled and motioned for him to hug Melinda back. Pitch got the hint and took his daughter into his arms, hugging her as tight as he could without hurting her.

"I love you, too. I'm sorry I never told you before."

This continued for another minute before Pitch turned to look at his youngest grandson. Pitch was the face of evil, of fear, of misery. His grandson was his opposite: fun, good, and loving.

"I wasn't lying in Antarctica, Jack," Pitch looked towards the floor as he spoke and began to mess with his hands to try and calm his nerves. "You and I do have some similiarities. And not just in family tie." He looked up at Jack. "But you have one thing I will never have, and it's the thing that makes me so proud to call you my grandson."

Jack looked at him in confusion. Pitch smiled before striding over to Jack, placing both hands on Jack's shoulders.

"You can _forgive_. That's something that I've never been able to do, not even in my past life. And I'll probably never be able to do it." He ruffled Jack's hair, causing the winter sprite to glare at him. "I'm happy you're ok."

"Awe," Jack smirked. "Thanks, Gramps."

Everyone burst out laughing, except for Pitch. He only glared at his grandson.

"_Don't _call me that."

Jack only smiled, the one where his sparkling-snow-white teeth shone. Some of the mini tooth fairies fainted at the sight, and Tooth did everything in her power to not faint as well. The power of the smile became too much for Pitch, though; he let a smile slip onto his face as well, and it only got bigger when his daughter joined his side and took his hand, squeezing it.


	10. Chapter 10

_**LAST CHAPTER! EPILOGUE! **_

* * *

The Guardians (minus Jack) were weary of Pitch and Mother Nature at first. Mother Nature had abandoned her youngest son and Pitch had tried to kill him in the fight of Belief VS Fear. But as Christmas rolled about, North put them on the list to be invited to his Christmas party for spirits that he held every year at his workshop.

All of Jack's siblings by birthright (250 air spirits, 319 water spirits, 244 fire spirits, 167 earth spirits, Daisy, Friedrich, and Chris) all found their way onto the list as well (North suspected Jack put them on there.) Father Time, Jack-O-Lantern, Cupid, Groundhog, Leprechaun, and other major spirits also attended. It was the biggest party ever in account of turnout of guests. Wind even came in her solidified form so she could tell the Guardians stories of her and Jack's adventures before his Guardianship.

To Bunny's surprise, all of the spirits were nice to Jack. Of course, that may have been because before Jack showed up, tbe Guardians gave them all a lecture on how they would be beaten to a pulp if they said one rude thing to Jack. Bunny directed his comments towards the Groundhog, who nervously looked at the swords attached to North's belt.

Sandy even had a nice, long conversation with Pitch about the past, concerning the Golden Age and the Dark Age. Pitch had tearfully thanked Sandy for taking care of his daughter for so long and for keeping her hope alive. Sandy only smiled and made a golden handkerchief, handing it to Pitch, who snorted, but took the offering.

Then the two old spirits watched as Melinda approached her son. Tapping him on the shoulder, he turned around and had to look down to look at his mother. He smiled before dropping his staff and pulling her into a tight hug. She stood shocked for a moment, before finally smiling and wrapping her arms around the son she missed so much. She hugged him as tight as she could without hurting him.

They stood like that for at least a hour, and no one dared to interrupt them. Finally, Daisy couldn't take it anymore; she grabbed Friedrich and Chris and they joined in the family hug. Jack took his arms from his mother and wrapped him as much as he could around his three other siblings. Melinda just continued to hold Jack and Chris rubbed her back.

"What a joyful Christmas this is!" North said, raising a glass of eggnog in the air and throwing a cookie into his mouth.

* * *

_Everyday as we learn and grow_

_We find the people to love or let go_

_And when life tries to challenge the simplicity of the heart_

_Fight back and show the world just how strong you are._

_- Original Poem by that1fangirl_


End file.
